Sakhir – Enchanted Palace, Bahrain 1977

Limited Edition prints in three sizes of Sakhir – Enchanted Palace

Bahrain, with its fresh waters, has always held a special place in a predominantly arid region and across millennia became home to many castles. Sakhir Palace, the oldest palace to the South, was originally built by Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa c.1901 - its enigmatic beauty is captured here in oils in 1977. Sakhir Palace’s tranquil, spacious desert setting remained unchanged for many years even though the discovery of oil in 1928 transformed much of the island. Since this painting, the Palace has been redeveloped and Sakhir has become world-famous for the Bahrain International Circuit, which introduced the Middle East Formula One Grand Prix in 2004.

Christine Rollitt first visited Bahrain in the 1970’s, many years before all the new development that is
now taking place at such a rapid pace.

As a painter, the most impressive aspects were the bands of sky, coastline and sea. These coastlines especially at Budaiya, Hidd and Muharraq consisted of traditional buildings, small mosques and dhows tied up along the beaches. The haze and humidity enhanced the colours, predominantly turquoise, cream and ochre that emanated from the timeless and unspoilt villages.

The artist painted for two years, sometimes painting the same place more than once. In those days she would sit along the coastline with her umbrella and easel, plenty of water to drink, and her paints. Now, it is hard to imagine the temperatures that must have been endured outside for hours at a time.

Her reward was to have the first exhibition at the then brand new Hilton Hotel, now known as the Golden Tulip. The paintings sold well and gave Christine the inspiration to continue in her chosen field of art, painting.

This year Christine visited Bahrain for the first time in almost thirty years and was astonished at the changes. These changes have spurred her on to make a series of Limited Edition prints of the paintings done so many years ago, in order to keep alive the picturesque qualities of the traditional Bahraini landscape.